


Saving Energy

by mooseholmes



Category: Star Trek: Alternate Original Series (Movies)
Genre: I mean it's REQUITED, Love, M/M, Mutual Pining, Sharing a Bed, it's the only WAY, to save ENERGY, when I say it's requited, you already know the crew has a bet going
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-25
Updated: 2021-01-14
Packaged: 2021-03-07 17:55:16
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 12,365
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26641786
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mooseholmes/pseuds/mooseholmes
Summary: When the Enterprise needs some dire reparations, there's no choice left but to share a bed.
Relationships: James T. Kirk/Spock
Comments: 48
Kudos: 356





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hey y'all. I haven't written fiction in like 3 years, so hope I can still write somewhat decently well.

“Scotty, are you serious?”

  
“Aye captain, I’m afraid I cannae dae anythin’ about it. The ship sir, she needs tae be fixed more than Keenser here needs his five meals a day.”  
Keenser nodded solemnly, his stomach grumbling in accompaniment.

  
Jim sighed and ran his hand through his hair, the other resting on his hip. He looked at Scotty, who had both hands on his hip and no intention of budging, then to Keenser, who just shrugged. He let out another heaving sigh and let his shoulders drop in defeat.

  
“Fine,” he said. “The crew is not going to be happy about this.”

  
-

  
“As you all may know, the Enterprise was recently in an altercation with a stray Romulan spacecraft. While we claimed victory at the end of the day thanks to all of your hard work and dedication, the ship did not leave without damages. Due to the absence of nearby Federation bases in the vicinity, Mr. Scott has requested to complete all and any reparations mid-flight.”

  
A murmur ran through the crowd as Jim paused. He glanced at the curious faces of his chief officers before continuing.

  
“As such, the Enterprise will need to enter power-saving mode for the next week, possibly longer should the engineering team require. Energy will be diverted from all unnecessary and expendable operations for the time being, and all crew members must endeavor to comply with the restricted energy supply. Operations such as virtual combat training, corridor lighting, and all other expendable areas will be either ceased or reduced for the time being. In addition, crew members will be asked to share rooms to limit energy expenditure. Lieutenant Uhura will be providing you with a list of room assignments, please be sure to disperse them to your teams. That will be all.”

  
He stepped back from the front of the room and nodded to Uhura, who shouted to the clamoring group of chief officers to receive their assignments on their PADDs. Jim sighed for what felt like the hundredth time that day and watched as people began filing out of the room, signaling to his other crew members that they were dismissed as well. The attack had come out of nowhere – while he was glad that his crew had come out of it unharmed, his ship had taken the brunt of the damage, and Jim was not happy. The ship felt like a part of his being, and to know there wasn’t help nearby worsened the impact of the hit. Not to mention with the energy redirection, this next week was going to a very, very long one. All the ship needed was to not be attacked for a week. All Jim needed was just a nice, long, restful, uninterrupted nap for a day.

  
A throat cleared next to him and he jumped out of his revery. He turned to see Spock next to him, and he knew his heart wasn’t racing from just the surprise.

  
“Captain, if I may.”

  
“Go ahead, Spock.”

  
“I noticed that our living arrangements have not been changed in response to the energy diversion. While our rooms may be connected, they still require separate and varying amounts of energy, thus causing this arrangement to be illogical for the current circumstances. May I inquire the reason?”

  
“Oh, ah, well, yes, well, I know you like to keep your privacy! As my first officer, I respect your boundaries, and I’ve already gotten it approved from Scotty, so no need to worry.” Jim could feel the redness of his cheeks and mentally calculated the distance between him and the exit.

  
Spock raised an eyebrow. “Captain, while your respect for my preferences is dutifully noted, it is illogical to place my needs above those of the ship. Please correct me if I am wrong, but is there something aversive to sharing a room with me that has caused you to take such actions?”

  
Jim didn’t need a mirror to know that his face had gone completely red. “What? No! What! How could you say such a thing!” He clapped a hand to Spock’s shoulder, earning a quizzical look as Jim started backing up towards the door. “There’s absolutely nothing wrong with sharing a room – in fact, I’d love to! I just know how you are and how much you like your space! So preferences, and preferences only. Don’t even worry about it Spock, it’ll be fine!”

  
With that, he was out the door, leaving behind a very confused Spock. Jim sighed again, not believing he’d just let the first thing he’d thought of leave his mouth. It was going to be a very long week indeed.

  
-

  
Later that night, Jim lay tucked into bed, staring at the dark ceiling above him.

  
The rest of the day had gone by without much error, and the amount of paperwork he’d done after dinner had left him exhausted. As he waited for sleep to claim him, he let the memories of the day wash over him, grimacing when the conversation he and Spock had had popped up.

  
“I mean I really made a fool of myself, didn’t I?” Jim whispered to no one in particular.

  
He had, he absolutely had. He knew they should be sharing a room right now for energy-sake, but when he thought about the way his heart fluttered when he saw Spock or thought about Spock or heard Spock’s voice or felt Spock’s firm Vulcan hand on his shoulder, he knew there was no way he could get through a whole week of Spock sleeping Right! There! Next to him! And there was no way he could let someone else share a room with Spock – it was a selfish thought, but he allowed his heart this one pleasure.

  
He just hoped his First Officer bought his excuse. Knowing him, his logic would outweigh all other reasoning, and he’d go searching for the most logical way out of the situation.

  
“Let’s see, what would he say?” Jim put on his best Spock impression. “Captain, due to the ship’s circumstances, it is entirely illogical for me to continue having my own quarters. I have discussed the matter with Mr. Scott, and he has agreed that sharing a room will allow for a 1% increase in available energy. As such, I must urgently request you to overcome your need to account for my preferences and allow the ship to return to complete functioning as soon as possible.”

  
Jim chuckled, shaking his head at his impression of the Vulcan. Fantasies were nice to conjure every now and then, but there was no way that Spock would choose to share a room with him over having his own. Nice try brain, he thought, now it’s time to sleep these illogical thoughts away. He rolled over.

  
And rolled right up into a sitting position when he heard a knock on his bathroom door. He blinked a few times, unsure as to whether he’d even heard the faint noise or not.

  
When the knock came again a few moments later, Jim scrambled out of bed and nearly slipped in his rush to open the door. It wasn’t until after he’d opened the door to their connecting bathroom and saw Spock standing with a neatly folded blanket and pillow that he realized his hair had already started forming its usual bed-head shape.

  
“Spock,” he whispered. He might need to pinch himself awake, there was no actual way that Spock was standing there? In his Federation-approved pajamas? Doing what he thought he was about to do?

But he was. “Captain,” Spock said. “Forgive my intrusion, I hope I did not wake you?”

  
Jim stared for a few seconds before reminding his mouth to work. “You definitely did not. What can I do for you?”

  
Spock glanced briefly to the floor and shifted in his stance before staring Jim in the eyes. “Captain, due to the ship’s circumstances, it is entirely illogical for me to continue having my own quarters. I have discussed the matter with Mr. Scott, and he has agreed that sharing a room will allow for a 1% increase in available energy. As such, I must urgently request you to overcome your need to account for my preferences and allow the ship to return to complete functioning as soon as possible.”

  
He looked down at the bundle in his hands, hands curling slightly tighter around the blanket, and then back at the captain. He blinked once, and Jim swore there was a greenish blush rising to his face.

  
Jim blinked several times, still not comprehending the verbatim speech that just came out of his mouth. Spock raised an eyebrow, and Jim came back to his senses. “Yeah, yeah okay that sounds good, if that’s what you’re comfortable with. Come in!” And he swept his arm back towards his room, allowing Spock to move swiftly into the Captain’s quarters. Jim silently wished he’d cleaned a little more before bed.

  
“No judging,” he said, to which the corners of Spock’s mouth barely quirked upwards.

  
“I do not wish to intrude upon your living quarters; I will require nothing more than the empty space between your bed and the wall,” Spock said, making his way to the area.

  
“Are you sure? I don’t mind if you want to take the other half of the bed, the floor seems uncomfortable,” Jim said, slipping back under the covers of his duvet.

  
“Affirmative, Captain. I find it easier on my anatomy to sleep on harder surfaces on occasion.”

  
“If you’re sure, Spock. The offer remains regardless.”

  
“Thank you, Captain.”

  
The two settled into their respective sleeping areas, and Jim’s poor heart was working overtime. He briefly wondered if the Vulcan’s superior hearing could pick up on the change in heart rate, but the need for sleep quickly overtook any other migrant thoughts. He yawned and settled further into his bed.

  
“Good night, Captain.”

“Good night, Spock.”

  
And the darkness took over them both.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry folks, midterms and all. Why do I always write these at like 11PM, comments about blaring mistakes are always welcome.

As it turns out, needing repairs on the ship didn’t stop them from having to undergo away missions.

The transporter beamed to life and brought with it the bedraggled forms of Jim, Spock, and four other members of the science team, tricorders and phasers clutched tightly in their hands. The twigs in their hair and the dirt on their face had, unfortunately, also made it aboard the Enterprise. It took them a solid three minutes to blink back to reality and move stiffly away from transport pad, muddy footprints in their wake.

Dr. McCoy entered the room, took one look at them, and sighed, signaling to the other medical crew members who’d accompanied him to escort them to the med bay. He looked at Jim. “What in tarnation happened down there? You’ve only been gone for 35 minutes.”

“Some rocks. Are not rocks,” Jim said, waving away a scanner as Bones began his post-mission physical en route to his office.

_“Hey look, Spock,” Jim had said. He pointed at a particularly blue flower growing out of a rock. Spock had joined him, and they both had peered at the comically blue flower, complete with a bright yellow center and perfectly green stem._

_The thought had barely crossed his head when he heard a distinct “Captain, I advise you do not touch it yet.”_

_He looked at Spock, who had fixed him with a stern look. The man knew him too well._

_Jim stared Spock straight in the eyes as he reached out with his hand to poke the plant right in the yellow part, a smirk forming on his lips._

_The ground began to rumble, and any traces of humor were replaced with alarm._

_Spock sighed as the earth began to rise and they tumbled right off the creature they’d managed to wake._

Jim plopped himself onto an examination bed and nearly threw himself down to take a nap right then and there. The adrenaline was wearing off from the chase, and he stifled a yawn as the exhaustion set in his bones. As Bones took his blood pressure, his gaze landed on Spock, who stood to the side with his hands stiffly crossed behind his back. His easy smile was met with a frown and an unreadable expression, and Jim knew he’d messed up.

Before he could open his mouth to say something, Bones patted him on the back with a sigh. “You’re good to go Jim. No broken bones or parasites, but if you keep pulling stunts like these, I can’t promise you’ll come back in one piece.”

“I’ll keep it in mind Bones, thanks for the advice,” Jim said, gingerly easing himself off the table.

“And take a shower too, you reek.”

“Thank you, mother.”

The doctor rolled his eyes and motioned to Spock. “You’re next, mister.”

Jim patted Spock’s arm as he passed by him, another yawn threatening to take over him. “I’ll see you in a little bit.”

Spock stared at where the captain’s hand laid on his arm and briefly nodded. If Jim had waited just a few more seconds before walking away, he would’ve noticed a slight green blush on the tips of Spock’s ears (but alas, dear reader, he did not). Jim stopped to stretch momentarily before heading back to his quarters, pieces of the doctor’s conversation with Spock floating to him.

“Spock, why is your blood pressure so high?”

“I assure you doctor, this is the standard blood pressure for a Vulcan of my build.”

“Bullshit, how many times have you gotten a physical before, it’s never been this high.”

\--

Water had never felt as good to Jim as it felt now, cascading down from the shower head and washing away the remnants of the day. As he scrubbed himself clean, he thought back to Spock as he usually did when he was all on his own.

It was day 3 of Sharing a Room With Spock, and while the previous night had gone by without much fanfare, he doubted the tranquility would last tonight. The expression he’d seen in Spock’s eyes was usually reserved for cases where Jim had fucked up, and maaan, tonight was not a night he wanted to be looked at like that, especially not from Spock.

He turned off the shower and toweled off. That unreadable expression was the one thing he'd never understood about Spock. Was it disappointment? Or maybe it was exasperation, he thought as he shrugged on his pajamas. Lord knows their relationship hadn’t started out on the best of terms, but maybe Spock had finally gotten tired of being First Officer to a captain like Jim. Always reckless and running headfirst into trouble, even when he wasn’t looking for it.

Or maybe it was irritation, Jim mused as he slipped under the covers, groaning at the delight of laying down on a flat surface. Perhaps there was nothing left in Spock’s heart but irritation and annoyance of Jim and his antics.

Or maybe it was just anger, Jim thought with the last few braincells still operating as he drifted to sleep. Spock was just angry at him for ignoring his request, and maybe he’d never stop being angry with him. Maybe all he’d see in the future was an angry Spock, a Spock with that unreadable expression that didn’t quite say anger and didn’t quite say disappointment and didn’t quite say irritation but did quite say something else. Something he was missing. The image of Spock’s face floated in his mind as exhaustion took over his body and put him to sleep.

Hours later, Jim woke up to the sound of shuffling at the side of his bed. Bleary-eyed, he rolled over to find Spock frozen in the act of laying himself down onto his bedroll on the floor.

“I apologize Captain, I did not intend to wake you.”

Jim shook his head, words barely forming in his mind. He pointed at himself. “Jim, not Captain.” He pointed to the floor. “Floor cold and uncomfy.” He patted the spot next to him on the bed. “Bed warm and comfy.”

Spock looked at him with an eyebrow raised and a small smile forming at the corner of his lips. “It is quite alright, Captain, the floor will be amenable. I do not wish to intrude on your rest.”

Jim narrowed his eyes and gave him the best death-stare he could with his eyes barely opened. He pointed to himself again. “Jim, not Captain. Been long day for you, bed is fine.”

“Cap- _Jim_ , I must insist, my body is quite capable of recuperating without the need for a soft surface, I will be –”

“’S an order. Get in the goddamn bed Spock.”

Spock let out a small sigh; had Jim been able to keep his eyes open properly, he would’ve sworn he’d rolled his eyes. The Vulcan grabbed his pillow from the floor and lifted the covers of the bed, easing himself into the vacant side (he would never in a million years admit to the immediate relief it brought his tired body).

Jim nodded and adjusted himself to make room for Spock, rolling more of the blanket over to the other man. Something nagged in the back of his sleep-addled brain as he settled back down to sleep, something that had been worrying him, something about Spock, something he should – oh!

“Spock?”

“Yes, Jim?”

“Are you mad at me?”

He felt the other man freeze in his spot. There was brief, agonizing pause before he heard a sigh, the third he’d heard from Spock all day. “No, Jim, I am not.”

Happy with the response, Jim let out a contented hum before rolling back over to his side. Sleep had almost overtaken him again when he heard a whispered “I just wish you would take care of yourself more” from Spock.

His treacherous brain knocked him out before he had a chance to process any of it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh no, they're sharing a bed, whatever will happen the next morning (stay tuned to find out)


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Again, why do I only write these at like 11:15 PM? PLEASE feel free to comment below with literally anything you got, y'all's comments make my day

In the wee hours of the morning, Jim slowly woke to the feeling of weighted comfort. He couldn’t believe that he’d remember to take his weighted blanket out of storage before he’d gone to bed the night before, and he turned to his other side. The blanket was definitely more weighted on this side, and he snuggled even further into the strangely heavy portion of the covering. If the blanket seemed to add more pressure than before and close further in around him, Jim didn’t think much of it before drifting back to sleep.

Several hours later, the captain woke up once more to the morning sounds of the Enterprise. He slowly stretched his limbs, cracking nearly every joint in his body as he moved, and he looked around him. The spot next to him was empty, and Jim frowned slightly; he would’ve liked the chance to see Morning Spock in the opportunity he’d finally gotten, but the Vulcan must have started his day earlier than him. Which wasn’t unusual to him, so he threw the covers off him, swung his legs over the side of the bed, and pushed off towards the bathroom.

It wasn’t until Jim was staring idly at his face in the mirror as he was brushing his teeth that he realized he had never taken his weighted blanket out of storage. In fact, he didn’t even own one. He blinked once at the reflected image of himself, spit violently into the sink, and spun abruptly to stare at the bed.

Had someone snuck in during the middle of the night? Attempted a kidnapping and thought better of it? Thought he needed a very heavy blanket and brought it to him at 3 AM? Read his Christmas wish list and decided on a very early gift?

Jim looked around the bed, under the bed, near the bed, far from the bed, wherever-you-are the bed, and found no extra blanket. It baffled him, and he almost chalked it up to his imagination before he remembered how the weighted blanket had seemed to move. And had seemed very solid. And incredibly warm. And, now that he thought about it, smelled a little like…

If there was a Guinness World Record for how quickly someone could blush, Jim would’ve beaten it by now in ten times the record speed. He sat down on the edge of his bed, mind and heart racing at equal speeds. _I mean, no way_ , he thought. _Spock was a cuddler? A snuggler? An all-up-in-your-proximity kind of sleeper?_ He checked the time and realized that, as bone-rattling as this revelation might be, he still needed to go to work.

As he pulled on his uniform and straightened out his hair, it dawned on him that that might be the reason Spock had been so insistent on sleeping on the floor. It hadn’t even occurred to him that Spock had some genuine reason for not wanting to share the bed, and his selfish desires had overstepped his boundaries.

The door to his room slid open, and he stepped into the hallway, nodding a quick ‘good morning’ to the crew members near his quarters. Maybe he should apologize, Jim thought as he headed to the mess hall for a quick bite. But an apology needed an acknowledgement of what had occurred in the first place, right? What if Spock was too embarrassed to bring it up? What if he didn’t even _know_ he’d done it?

What if he didn’t do it again later that night?

The thought hit him out of nowhere so forcefully that Jim stopped dead in his tracks as he reached for a replicated apple. He looked surreptitiously around him, wondering for a brief moment if he’d forgotten about any telepathic abilities of his fellow crew members. When no one stared at him with wide eyes or accusing stares, he breathed a small sigh of relief and grabbed the apple, biting into it as he made his way back to the hallway.

Was it wrong to want to withhold the knowledge that Spock cuddled the closest lifeform to him in his sleep from the man in question? As he made his way onto the elevator and headed to the bridge, Jim thought himself selfish for wanting to keep it a secret just so that he could experience it again. Believe it or not, Cuddly Spock made a great big spoon, and part of Jim was loathed to give it up so soon after experiencing it. But the other part of Jim wanted to respect the man’s boundaries, especially since Vulcans were so sensitive to touch. Yet another, more treacherous part of his brain hinted that maybe, _just_ maybe, Spock meant to do it and he _liked_ doing it and he _wanted_ to spoon more. This part of his brain was the tiniest portion of Jim’s entire body, so he chose to do what he normally did with these particular feelings about Spock and carefully wrapped it in gift wrap, storing it in the dark recesses of his mind to think about later when he had time.

Which, of course, he had none of now as he stepped onto the bridge. He heard a “Captain on the bridge!” coming somewhere from his right, and he nodded vaguely in that direction. His brain continued to war with itself as he made his way to his chair, and the dissonance distracted himself long enough to not notice that the object of his thoughts had made his way to stand before him.

“Captain, the reports for the morning,” Spock said, handing him a PADD. Jim blinked and looked at it, not registering the thing being handed to him by the man who cuddled in his sleep, who snuggled another person in bed, who had spooned _him_ in bed –

Jim snapped out of it and snatched the PADD from the First Officer with a little too much force to be casual. He smiled and was met with the usual Eyebrow Raise.

“Captain, are you alright?”

“Never better, Spock! Thanks for this, I’ll be sure to look over it, looks as impeccable as ever.” Jim had never pleaded so much for his body to not turn his face into a tomato at that moment.

Spock’s eyebrow raised even further up before bringing it back down and nodding slightly, turning to return to his desk. Jim opened his mouth to say something but thought better of it. If Spock wasn’t going to bring it up, then neither would he.

He sat back down to start the day and caught a made eye contact with Sulu and Chekov, who both abruptly turned right around and took a keen interest in their stations. Jim thought he heard a “told you so” but decided to ignore it for everyone’s sake.

It was going to be a very long day.




And a long day it was.

The time was currently 10:35 PM, and Jim had barely made it through three-quarters of the reports he’d be given throughout the day. He was seated at his desk in his room and was chewing on the tip of a pencil when the door slid open and in stepped Spock.

Jim briefly stopped scrolling through his documents to exchange greetings with the other man, who had barely moved from his entrance spot near the door. The smile on Jim’s face faltered when he found Spock staring at him with a blank expression on his face. Was there something on his face…?

Before he could ask, the Vulcan blinked twice and brought himself back to reality. “Cap – _Jim_ ,” Spock asked. “When did you start wearing glasses?”

“Oh, these things?” Jim tapped the side of his square reading glasses. “A year or so ago. Things started looking a lil blurry the closer they were, so Bones forced me into a pair. Cute, aren’t they?”

The Vulcan nodded slowly, moving towards where his things were placed on the other side of the room. “Yes, they are quite…amenable,” he responded, gathering his clothing. “Excuse me while I prepare myself for the night.”

Jim nodded, and Spock retired to the restroom. Jim signed in the necessary areas for another document and filed it away; only 10 more to go before he could call it a night. He looked to where Spock had disappeared for the time being, and he wondered if he should bring up the spooning.

There was no harm in clearing it up, right? He would tell Spock that he cuddled in his sleep and that he had cuddled _him_ in his sleep last night and that it was totally fine, no need to worry about it at all, feel free to do it anytime again. And Spock would apologize profusely, swear to never do it again, and return to sleeping back on the floor.

Which is NOT what Jim wanted. At all. So when Spock came out of their shared bathroom, brushed his teeth, and retired to his side of the room, Jim said absolutely nothing and kept his mouth shut about the matter. They chatted amicably while Jim shifted through papers and Spock got ready for bed, and Jim steadfastly did not bring up any mentions of cuddling. Or spooning. Or spoons or forks or any food-related topics at all. Spock, for his part, didn’t attempt to bring it up either, and Jim decided that the man simply didn’t know he grabbed onto the closest warm object in his sleep and decided that he wouldn’t be the one to tell him. Not _yet_ , anyways.

Jim had 4 reports left to go when Spock bid the captain a good night and climbed underneath the covers of the bed. Within 20 minutes, his breathing slowed down enough for Jim to be confident he’d fallen asleep enough for him to look at him. In a NOT creepy way, he added. The Vulcan’s face took on a different level of calm when he was asleep – no frowns, no thin-lipped almost-smiles, no eyebrow raises that almost touched the sky. He’d never seen Spock so properly and thoroughly relaxed, and he thought it was the most beautiful thing he’d seen in the universe.

 _At least he took the bed today_ , Jim thought as he rubbed the sleep out of his eyes and got back to work on the rest of his paperwork.

An hour later, the captain put the PADD down with a sigh and stood up to stretched, joints popping as he did so. It was nearing 12:30, and Jim could feel the weight in his bones as he turned the lights off and slipped into the spot next to Spock. The world seemed a little quieter in the wee hours of the morning, and the near silence helped lull him far enough for his brain to turn off for the night.

A few hours later, Jim woke once again to the feeling of the weighted blanket around him. He let out a contented sigh at the peace the feeling gave him and turned to the heavier side of the covering. He curled into a smaller ball and pushed his face deeper into the pliant wall. Jim found that even blankets didn’t let you breathe if you smother your face in them, so he turned back over and scooted further back to rest his back against the solid chunk of blanket.

The blanket in question shifted to tighten ~~its arms~~ itself around Jim, eliciting another happy sigh from the captain. “ _Ashayam_ , you move too much,” the blanket said in rough, sleep-addled voice.

Jim frowned slightly. What an odd thing for a blanket to say when it wouldn’t let him breathe in the first place. “Sorry,” he whispered with the only push of strength he could muster at like 3:30 in the morning.

The blanket gave a small hum in response, and both blanket and captain fell back asleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chekov owes Sulu 40 credits now. Sulu's currently in the lead of the "Are Captain Kirk and First Officer Spock finally getting together during this power outage" betting pool, but ONLY because Bones is not involved. 
> 
> Spock took one look at Kirk in glasses and said FUCK he's hot
> 
> Ashayam = beloved


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Can you guys tell I don't want to review Genetics right now? All and any comments welcome, they seriously and genuinely get me through the day

Jim woke to the sound of silence and a feeling of peace that he’d never woken up with before in his life. He looked to his left and found the bed empty again; his heart sunk just a little.

Spock gave him the best sleep of his life, and he dared to continue to leave before he’d woken up? The audacity of some people, honestly. Maybe it was a sign that he should start getting up earlier like Bones had recommended, Jim thought as he begrudgingly made his way to the bathroom to start his day.

Another day, another journey through the stars, and another opportunity to ponder if he should talk to Spock about his sleeping habits. It’s not like it _bothered_ Jim – in fact, he wished he’d do it for the rest of his life if he’d wake up feeling as rested as he felt now. But it was a well-known fact that Vulcans just simply didn’t really _touch_ people. Spock may have been half-human, but he relied on his Vulcan half more often than not. He was very much in touch with his Vulcan heritage, and he was very much physically in touch with Jim too, so Jim decided that at some point before the week was up, he’d have to tell Spock.

It’s not like they _never_ touched each other, Jim thought as he made his way to the mess hall. Jim was fond of physical contact and often gave it freely to those around him who consented. While his physical contact with Spock was drastically less than others, he still gave him the occasional squeeze of the arm or a pat on the back, so it wasn’t like they had never had contact before.

The thought lingered in his mind as he entered the cafeteria. He handed out a few ‘good mornings’ and some pleasant nods to the crewmen as he made his way towards the replicators. His eyes landed on the plate of one yeoman, and he took in the site of an unfortunately colored…something. He managed to keep the grimace off his face, but the ash-colored food was seared into his brain for the time being. It reminded him of something, and Jim mulled it over as he picked up a decently sized fruit. Something about the color, the ash-y quality, the ash-color…

_Ashayam, you move too much_.

The neurons connected and the words floated to the front of his mind. The Spock Blanket had said those words to him before the simulated sun had risen, and Jim let the phrase roll around in his mind. _Ashayam_ , how unfamiliar…he assumed it was Vulcan, but the only Vulcan word he’d learned was the name of a fruit he’d tried once on shore leave a few years back.

It wasn’t like he could ask Spock himself. Luckily for Jim, the one other person who could help him out was currently eating a bowl of cereal in a corner, and he had enough time to spare for a detour.

“Uhura, fancy seeing you here!” Jim said as he slid into the spot across from lieutenant.

The woman in question raised an eyebrow and shifted her PADD to the side to give the captain some space. “Some of us do actually enjoy having routine eating schedules, Captain.”

“Okay, point taken. Wounded, but taken,” Jim said, taking a pointed bite out of his apple. “Any news for me before we head to bridge?”

“Yes, actually, now that you ask,” Nyota said, and she handed him the PADD she’d been scrolling through. Jim accepted it and looked through it, talking through some of the notes she’d made on the document.

“Thanks for this, saved some time from the morning debrief. Question for you now,” Jim said, handing the device back. “If someone were to call you _Ashayam_ , what would that mean?”

Nyota’s eyes widened beyond what Jim thought possible, and she spit out the water she’d taken a sip of. Jim blinked and wiped the liquid off his face, the lieutenant scrambling to reach the paper napkins on the table. 

“Ohhhhhh my god, Captain, I’m _so_ sorry,” she said as she thrust the napkins towards him. Jim waved it off and cleaned his face. “Where did you hear that word?”

“Nowhere important! Just came across it…somewhere, but it doesn’t matter.”

“Captain – _Jim_ , did somebody call you _Ashayam_? Ohmygod did –” her voice lowered and she leaned forward across the table. “Did _Spock_ call you _Ashayam_?”

Jim looked at her wide eyes and he wondered if a little white lie wouldn’t hurt right now. “No…yes…maybe? Why, is it bad? What did he say?”

Nyota’s mouth dropped, and she stared at him before laughing. She leaned back and crossed her arms. “Oh wow, I’m about to be so rich…you know, Captain, this might be something you should ask him yourself. It’s a rather…sensitive topic? One you should probably talk about in a private space, just in case anything…emotional happens.”

“Ohmygod. Did he just call me an idiot?”

“Something like that. Do I think you’re an idiot? Yes.”

“Thank you, Lieutenant Uhura, how reassuring.”

“Anytime, sir. Can I ask though,” Nyota said, leaning forward again. “When did he say it? How did it happen?”

Jim felt the blush rising to his cheeks before he could stop it. “You know something? It looks like it’s time for shift change, I really gotta be going now,” he rambled as he stood and started moving quickly away from the chair.

“Jim, there’s still 10 minutes left, answer me!”

“I like to be early, Nyota, you know me! See you on the bridge!” He finger-gunned at her and exited the hall as quickly as he could.

-

Predictably, his shift ended with little disturbances and, to Jim’s great delight, little paperwork. He changed into standard Federation-issued workout clothes and hit the gym, deciding to work off the energy and get Bones off his back about his exercise habits. Two birds with one stone.

With the energy cuts, there were far and fewer options at the gym. The sparring mats were currently occupied by other crewmembers working on some techniques, so Jim settled on the track that weaved its way through the gym. Without the usual holograms to simulate a foreign planet, the track encompassed a long stretch of boring, so Jim put in his headphones and hit the road.

The monotony quickly became routine, and his thoughts wandered back to his conversation with Uhura. Had Spock really been so mean? At 3 AM? Nyota was the best linguistic and diplomat he knew, and if she had said Spock had called him an idiot, he was inclined to believe her.

Actually, her words had been “Something like that”. And her words had also been “Talk to Spock about it”. Which Jim wasn’t as inclined to do, ‘cause talking to Spock meant the jig was up. Even if this game was one-sided and he was the only player, he didn’t want it to end quite yet.

Jim rounded the corner and started his final lap. In all of their interactions today, Spock hadn’t given any indication that he’d been upset with him. In fact, he’d even almost-smiled at a joke Jim had made during the lunch break they always took together. It had thrown Jim off a little; Spock rarely seemed to find his jokes funny, and seeing him with his mouth turned up on one side and an almost unnoticeable glimmer in his eyes made Jim’s heart flip ten times faster than it usually did in Spock’s presence.

He wondered what it’d be like to see him smile properly. To see him laugh with all his teeth showing, to hear his chest rumble with unrestrained emotion. With the thought of an unconstrained Spock, Jim finished the last quarter of his lap ten seconds faster than anticipated. He took a swig of his water and grabbed his towel, wiping the sweat off his face as he headed back to his room.

If anything, he thought as he hit the elevator button to his floor, the _Ashayam_ hadn’t _sounded_ so unfriendly. Really, who would call someone an idiot while they were spooning them? _Spock,_ Jim thought. _Spock would probably call someone an idiot while they were spooning them_.

He exited the elevator and started down the hallway. A few crewmembers shuffled past carrying a heavy-looking piece of furniture between them, and he wondered briefly if he should ask them about it before the opportunity escaped him.

 _Ashayam_ didn’t sound like a bad thing to Jim, so he didn’t want to think it was. But it’s not like Jim was about to take the one step he needed to find the truth, so in the dark he would remain for now. He could live with the idea that he hadn’t been called an idiot by his First Officer while he was being spooned by said man for the rest of his life, it surely wasn’t going to eat him up from the inside.

If he thought about, _Ashayam_ had sounded almost…affectionate.

The idea made Jim blush as he reached his door. He shook the thought and the blush away as he opened his door, determined to get ahold of himself.

Only for his blush to return in full force as he encountered Spock frozen in the middle of the room. Spock frozen in the act of returning to his side of the room from the bathroom. Spock frozen in the act of moving to the other side of the room wrapped in nothing but a towel around his waist. With wet hair that dripped water into a puddle on the spot of the floor where he stood.

Jim was struck by the sheer casualness that Spock emitted, the absolute humanness of the whole situation, that he didn’t noticed it at first. Then his eyes broke the eye contact he’d made with the Vulcan and happened to drift south enough for him to see the muscles rippling across Spock’s abdomen and careening into a very well-defined V above his towel.

If his face wasn’t already red before, it sure looked like an overly ripe tomato now.

Jim was aware that his mouth was open, but he didn’t have enough brain cells left to close it. Spock was saying something to him, but all he could hear was the sound of his own monologue repeating _Holy shit Spock is ripped Holy shit Spock is shredded Holy shit Spock has an eight-pack Holy shit Spock is ripped Holy shit Spock is shr-_

His brain managed to tune into what was coming out of this absolutely buff mad lad in front of him was saying. “…logize, I had forgotten my clothes before I had showered, I apologize for any discomfort I have caused, Captain.”

Jim stared at him again before reminding his mouth to work. “No discomfort, Spock. Seriously, like _none_ , please walk around without a shirt as much as you wa-” okay his brain was overheating now “I mean, it’s fine. Totally fine. Definitely fine. Um. Carry on.”

And Jim turned right around and closed the door. He leaned against and let out the biggest sigh he’d ever heard come out of a human being.

His heart still beating too quickly for his own good and his brain still at 20%, he decided the gym was the best place to be right now.

Two hours later, the adrenaline ran out, and Jim decided that it was well past Spock’s bedtime and thus safe enough to go home. He cautiously opened the door to his room and breathed a quiet sigh of relief when he saw the lights off and a sleeping form in his bed. His heart couldn’t handle another round of shirtless Spock – that’d be an incredibly awkward conversation with McCoy after he restarted his heart with a defibrillator.

He showered and got ready for bed, doing his best to avoid any stray thoughts about the mishap. While Jim would love to keep the image of Spock’s undeniably strong body in his brain forever, he didn’t want to cause the sleeping man any more embarrassment than he’d probably already given him.

He was about to slip underneath the covers when he noticed a folded piece of paper on his bedside table. Putting the blanket down, he picked up it up and opened to find a neatly written note.

_Dear Jim,_

_I must extend my apologies for alarming you earlier. It had not been my attention to expose so much of myself to you, and I must ask your forgiveness for my error. As you did not return before I retired, I hope that this note will be sufficient enough to ease your discomfort. My apologies once more._

_Yours,_

_Spock_

A breathy laugh escaped before he could help it. Something about the note was so unequivocally _Spock_ that it made his heart warm. He looked at the man in question, sound asleep on the other side of the bed.

“I can’t believe you’ve been cuddling me while you’ve been that jacked this whole time,” Jim whispered as he turned the light off and slipped under the covers. “No wonder you’re a good big spoon.”

If Jim had managed to stay awake for another two minutes, he would’ve heard a small hum of confirmation coming from the other side of the bed. (Alas, dear reader, he did not)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Uhura's now currently in the lead of the crew-wide bet, womans made bank this chapter.
> 
> This whole chapter could've been avoided if Jimothy Kirk knew what a universal dictionary was, the Enterprise has got to have some of those around.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi everyone! Sorry, finals arrived and so did a spell of writer's block. This one's a bit long, but hope you enjoy nonetheless. Leave some comments, I seriously enjoy reading every single one of them, even if you think the chapter sucked!
> 
> Also, next chapter will be the last! Our lads will be getting somewhere, finally.

It was exactly 4:19 in the morning when Jim did a peculiar thing.

He woke up at around 4:17 AM and waited for his body to meet his rising consciousness. He assessed the situation as best as his stupor allowed him – the room temperature was just right, the blanket was still on him, an arm was wrapped around his torso, the sun had not risen yet. Technically, all was right with the world.

Except it wasn’t or he wouldn’t have woken up.

It was 4:18 when he felt the shift. First, the breathing behind him changed with a sharp intake of wakefulness. Then, the arm around him tightened slightly as if loathe to release. Finally, the arm slowly began to shift away, following the body behind him as it attempted to rise.

The time was 4:19 when Jim, with all the effort he could muster in his sleepy state, decided that this change would not do and promptly rolled over and threw himself onto the body trying to escape him. He felt it freeze underneath him as Jim threw his legs on top, effectively becoming a human straight jacket.

The body struggled in a valiant effort for freedom, but Jim was determined in his quest to continue his restful sleep. He furrowed his eyebrows as he squeezed tighter. “Not 5:30 yet, time for sleep.”

He heard a soft sigh. “Captain, I –”

“Don’t you ‘Captain, I’ me. More sleep means more sleep. Now good night.”

A wistful huff of air was heard, and Jim felt arms encircle him once again as he drifted back to sleep.

-

When Jim awoke for the second time that day, he felt more at peace than he had in his entire life. He was hugging his usual body pillow with all four of his limbs, and when he noticed it to be hairier than usual, he didn’t question it as he nosed further into the warm junction between hair and pillow, allowing the peace to take over him.

Until he realized that none of that made any sense at all and his eyes flew open to find himself starting at a neck. Which was attached to a body that he was currently clinging to and a head that currently belonged to his First Officer. Jim blinked once before shooting up, the arms around him stopping him from properly yeeting off into space. He found himself on his forearms, closer to Spock’s face than he’d ever been before, and promptly stopped breathing.

The Vulcan in question was rousing from sleep, eyes opening slowly without a care in the world. His hair was mussed from his usual perfectly straight trim, and as his eyes slowly focused on the person atop of him, the features of his face belied a soft sense of nonurgency, a tranquility that Jim had never seen before. As if there were nowhere else he’d rather be at that moment. Jim thought it was the most beautiful thing he’d ever seen.

“Good morning Jim,” Spock said, sleepy warmth dripping off his words. A smile ghosted across his lips as he closed his eyes again, and Jim’s heart was on the verge of bursting until Spock’s eyes flew open, panic surging at the situation in front of him.

“Ohmygod,” they simultaneously said.

A heartbeat passed between them as they stared at one another, Spock’s hands on Jim’s hips and Jim’s nose mere inches away from Spock’s face. Another heartbeat and Jim pitched himself to the left as Spock rolled himself to the right, tumbling off the bed. A frenzy of motion ensued as both men scrambled to get a hold of the situation. Jim scrabbled for the bedsheets, the covers, _anything_ that would help him figure out what the _fuck_ had just happened; Spock picked up whatever parts of his uniform he could find and promptly booked it to the bathroom, not waiting for the door to shut before escaping into his unused and frankly forgotten room.

In the silence that followed, Jim lay on his bed and just blinked. He thought breathing would disrupt the fragile air that surrounded him, so he didn’t. He ran a hand over his face and pinched his cheek, just to be sure that whatever it was that had just happened hadn’t been a dream. The pain receptors on his face told him it wasn’t so, and he covered his eyes with his hands. The breath trickled out of him in a slow and unsteady stream.

“Okay,” he whispered. He breathed again and sat up, nodding his head as if his somehow blank brain had miraculously come up with a plan. “Okay. Okay. Okay? Okayyyyyy. O-khay.”

He repeated the word like a prayer meant for the ears of the damned as he made his way to the sink. He splashed water on his face and looked himself in the eyes.

“ _Okay_.”

-

By the time Jim made it to the bridge, he thought he’d pleaded with his body enough to get his external reactions together. He had, for example, begged his face not to blush at the first sight of his First Officer. He’d also beseeched his vocal cords to work properly and maintain his status as the first and primary commanding officer of the Enterprise in an efficient and assertive manner.

_It’ll work, you can do this!_ He told himself as he rode the elevator up from the mess hall. _You’ve met literal aliens, for Pete’s sake, you can get ahold of yourself for one day. You can do it Jimbo, you GOT this, professionaLISM for the WIN._

Jim nodded a greeting to a few of his crewmates as he made his way to the captain’s chair, positive vibes and overall sense of control flowing through him. All of which promptly flew right out of him when he made eye contact with Spock, who’d been not-so-secretly staring at him from his station.

Apparently, Jim’s pleas had all been for naught when his entire face turned into a tomato, the speed of which was matched only by the bright green that had taken over Spock’s face. Both men looked away just as quickly as they’d made contact, and Jim reminded himself to get Bones to treat the whiplash he’d just gotten from it.

He snuck a glance at him and was rewarded with the back of Spock’s head and the sound of his rapidly moving fingers at his station. Jim sighed and rubbed his face, swiveling back to find Sulu and Chekov waiting expectantly for him. He would later deny any mentions of an undignified squeak he may or may not have emitted.

“What I can do for you gentlemen?” Jim said, his heart still racing.

“Ze reports for you, Keptin,” Chekov said, handing the PADD over to him. Jim muttered a thanks and started perusing. He stopped a few moments later when he realized the pair were still standing, turning back to them with a raised eyebrow.

“So, Captain,” Sulu started, shifting subtly on his toes. “How are…things?”

“…things?” Jim’s eyebrow raised even higher.

“Yes, Keptin,” Chekov chimed in. “Things are…good? For you?”

“Yes, things are…good. For me. Are things good for you?”

“Never better, sir. Are you alright? Are you eating well? Are you,” Sulu leaned in further, lowering his voice as he did. “Sleeping well?”

At that, both of Jim’s eyebrows nearly reached his hairline. If he’d been drinking water, he would’ve sprayed it all over them, but instead, he just leaned in further, glancing surreptitiously at Spock to make sure he wasn’t listening. “What do you know about…sleeping well?”

“I’ve heard that your sleeping patterns have…changed this week. Have they?”

“I…suppose you could say that, in a way, they have changed. A little. How do you know this exactly?”

“Vell, zhe whole ship has changed zis veek, so ve vere vondering if zhey have changed for you too…extensively.”

“I…it…the sleep has been better. But,” Jim let the words tumble out his mouth before he could bottle it up. “I’m not sure if the sleep will continue. For a while. I may have…ruined things a little. This morning.”

“This morning?” Chekov and Sulu leaned in further, soaking in the tea through their pores.

Jim bent forward, nearly touching foreheads with them, and opened his mouth to tell them that the jig was up and the cuddling was probably over and that he would never stop kicking Sleepy Jim™ in the face for ruining the precariously balanced tension between them – until he realized where they were and how oddly quiet the room had started to sound. “Gentlemen, perhaps this isn’t the right place for this conversation. Later maybe?”

Chekov and Sulu looked at each other and nodded. “Of course, apologies Captain. Carry on.”

They turned to go when Sulu stopped and turned around. “Captain, if I may. Regarding your…sleep, I think, in situations like this, communication might be the key figure here. It never hurts, at the very least.”

Jim blinked and nodded slowly. “Yes, thank you, Mr. Sulu. I’ll keep it in mind.”

Sulu nodded curtly, snapped to attention, and returned to his seat.

-

Jim mulled for the rest of the day. His shift finally ended, and he mulled. He ate dinner alone for the first time in a hot minute, and he mulled. He took a few laps around the track, and he mulled. He took a shower at the gym to avoid his room, and he mulled. He walked through the hallways of the Enterprise in an attempt to avoid his bed, and he mulled. He decided he couldn’t walk around forever, so he headed to the observatory, where he leaned against the glass and mulled.

He stood there and stared at the stars. The stars, in their unblinking and unfading glory, stared right back at him, daring him to expose his soul to them. He sent them a silent plea, the need for an answer burning within him, and the spaces between them sent their response. In the darkness, Jim made up his mind and marched back home.

He opened the door and was greeted with the sight of Spock sitting on his side of the bed, nose deep in a book that was unfortunately upside down. Jim couldn’t tell if Spock’s hands were wringing themselves dry from dread, nervousness, or anticipation. He closed the door behind him and sincerely hoped it wasn’t the former.

Spock’s eyes snapped up from the book, and Jim’s heart leapt to his throat. He’d built up so much conviction on his way over, but now that the moment had arrived, he felt it ebbing away through the soles of his feet. Luckily for him, Spock spoke first.

“Captain – _Jim_ , I would like to say something regarding our morning,” Spock said, closing the book as he spoke. “I realize that our compromising situation may have made you uncomfortable, as indicated by your avoidance of me throughout the day, and I extend my deepest apologies. I had not intended to take to your bed while we were required to share quarters for the sole purpose that I have, unfortunately, been known to unconsciously come into physical contact with the closest heat-emitting object during sleep. You are one of the warmest and brightest people I know, Jim, and I realize that we have been, as you would put it, cuddling every night. For this, I am sorry, and I wish to not cause you any further distress than I already have. Please accept m –”

“You’ve given me the best sleep I’ve ever had in my entire life,” Jim blurted out before he could stop himself. “Please don’t tell me we have to stop.”

Spock blinked once, twice, and then a third time before an almost-imperceptible smile tugged on his lips. “If it is alright with you, I also do not wish to stop.”

Jim laughed, the breath he didn’t realize he was holding rushing out of him in one fell swoop. The tension in the air had been cut, and with its dismissal, a sense of normalcy returned to the room. His shoulders felt much lighter than it had when he’d woken up that morning, and he gave Spock a toothy grin. “Great! Wonderful! That is the best thing I’ve heard all day…carry on with your reading, I’ll get ready for bed.”

Twenty minutes later, the lights had been turned off and Spock had made himself at home in their bed when Jim slipped under the covers, carefully adjusting the blanket to ensure that they were both covered. Spock turned to face him, and Jim gave him a lopsided grin as he settled back onto the pillow.

“So, you’ve always been a cuddler, huh?”

Spock huffed and rolled his eyes, moving to face the other side when Jim surged forward and caught him around the middle before he could move. Letting the sudden rush of bravery carry him through, Jim threw a leg over him and pulled him closer, nuzzling into the crook of Spock’s neck. Spock froze before edging one of his arms underneath Jim to pull him to fit against his chest, one leg between the two that surrounded him. He paused before tentatively placing his free hand in Jim’s hair, entangling his fingers through the soft gold locks when he heard a pleasurable hum in response.

The warmth of the embrace seeped between them as the darkness draped over the pair like a blanket, bringing them more comfort than they already shared. Sleep claimed them faster than it had before, and Jim emitted one last “Good night” before drifting off.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> \- Chekov and Sulu were put up to the task to get more info out of the Captain for the crew's bet.  
> \- Yes, they definitely now think Jim and Spock have been boning this whole time. Who's going to tell them (not me for sure)  
> \- Spock seeing Jim on top of him in the morning: *gay panic*


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello! I didn't forget y'all, I just got hit with that ye ole quarantine lethargy. We made it to the end! Thank you to all of you who have stayed with me until now, I hope you enjoy this finale (I suck at conclusions, so I'm really sorry if you don't lol). Please leave comments, I live off of them!

It became a routine for them. Once the day ended, Jim would retire to his room to find Spock either sitting in bed or at the table, PADD in one hand and tea in the other. He’d get ready for bed, they’d chat while he brushed his teeth, and finally, he’d slip under the covers to join Spock, who would adjust (but just barely) to let the captain in.

Some nights, Spock would already be asleep, and when Jim came to bed, the Vulcan would wordlessly roll over and throw an arm over him once he’d settled. On nights when Spock had too much work and not enough time, Jim would lean into his side, Spock would adjust the arm holding the PADD to drape over the captain, and the two would read over reports together, Jim nestled perfectly into Spock’s side as if he was never meant to be anywhere else.

The mornings mostly encountered the pair with Jim sprawled all over Spock and Spock clinging tightly to the man above him, one hand in his hair and another on his waist. On one occasion, Jim woke to find that their usual position had been flipped, and that was the morning that he discovered that Vulcans could, in fact, purr. If they were late to work on most mornings, both parties would absolutely deny that it was because neither of them wanted to leave the comfort of their bed any longer than they had to. They were professionals, after all.

It became such a routine for them that the morning Scotty approached him took him by surprise. Jim was sitting at a table with a whole bowl of cereal, recounting the feeling of Spock’s rumbling chest under him, when a flurry of green and red hurdled into the seat in front of him.

“Captainwe’vegotsomegreatnewsfory-“

“Scotty, slow down, I didn’t catch any of that.”

“Right, ahem.” Scotty straightened in his chair and brushed down his uniform. “What I was saying is that we’ve got some great news for you. The ship, she’s all complete!”

Jim blinked. “The ship is…complete?”

“Ye, the repairs are done! Took a bit longer than expected but I ended up addin’ in a new an’ improved design of mah own tae the engines myself an’ dare I say, sir, she has _ne’er_ purred quieter before.”

“That’s wonderful Scott, thanks for letting me know. I’ll make an announcement later tonight to let the crew know.”

“Aye, Captain. It’ll be good tae have our own rooms again, the crew will be happy tae hear that at least – well, most of them anyways.”

The spoon in Jim’s hand froze halfway between bowl and mouth, and Jim narrowed his eyes at the pair in front of him. “…most?”

Scotty’s eyes widened ever so slightly, and he swallowed nervously. “Ah, I mean, well, I’ve heard, well I think I’ve heard, that some crew members may be a bit more reluctant tae separate than others.” Jim didn’t miss the way Keenser had developed a sudden newfound interest in the markings of the table in front of him.

“…I see. Sounds like a bit of a _personal_ problem, wouldn’t you say so Scott?”

“Absolutely Captain, ne’er been a more personal problem than this. Well not that it’s a problem exactly, but it’s definitely personal, yeah yeah yeah…oh wouldya look at the time? We’re gonna be late for that thing that we’d talked about before, right Keenser, okaygottagohaveagreatdayCaptainbye.” And with that, the pair were out the door faster than they’d entered.

Jim sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. In the excitement that had consumed in the past few weeks, Jim had, frankly, completely and utterly forgotten the reason why he was sleeping in Spock’s arms every night. The weight of the realization hit him like a ton of bricks, and he dropped his head in his hands. He let out a sigh that carried a thousand lifetimes, and with the recognition of what’d have to happen later that day, he gathered his stuff and headed to work.

-

Later that day, Jim slammed open the automatic sliding doors of medbay as best as he could. He vowed to slip Scotty an extra handle of whiskey to get him to install at least one set of manual swinging doors somewhere on the ship for a proper slamming as he looked for Bones. He hopped onto an empty bed next to the man in question, who was in the middle of checking in with a sick crewmate.

“Not now Jim, I’m in the middle of something,” Bones said as he stuck a thermometer in the patient’s mouth.

“Yeah and I’m in the middle of a crisis. Bones,” Jim said, dropping his head into his hands for what felt like the 85th time that day. “I forgot we were doing repairs on the ship.”

The doctor blinked. And blinked again. And blinked a third time to be sure. “I’m sorry, I thought I heard you just say you _forgot_ about the repairs on the ship.”

“I did.”

“Oh, so you DID say you forgot about the repairs. The repairs that have been limiting our lighting, our technology, our working hours, our instruments, our medicine, and our general daily functioning as medical professionals. You’re saying you forgot about the reason I haven’t had a goddamn hour of time to myself in the past 15 days, the reason I’m using a goddamn thermometer from the goddamn 20th century like I’m some kind of goddamn caveman?” He waved the mentioned thermometer in his face for emphasis.

“Okay, when you put it like that, it sounds bad,” Jim said, getting up to follow Bones as he moved onto the next patient. “What I _meant_ is that yes, I did technically forget about it, but also, more importantly, I forgot that the roommate situation is temporary. As in, it’ll go away after tonight. As in, I’ll be all alone tomorrow night in my bed.”

“Oh I can’t _wait_ , I’ve just about had it. Do you know that the resident I’m paired with snores? If I wanted to feel my bed shaking at night, I would’ve moved to a fault line. You should be excited too, I can’t imagine sharing a room with that first officer of yours is any good either,” Bones said before checking his patient’s blood pressure.

Jim groaned and nearly flopped down face first onto the nearby bed before remembering there were people around. “Ohmygod, Bones, you have no idea. It’s not good,” Jim said, sneaking a look at the doctor when he hummed in agreement. “It’s fucking _great_.”

Bones froze, exchanging a quick glance with the patient at hand, who, to their credit, had the decency to avert their widened eyes to the other side of the room before scrambling back to work. The doctor cleared his throat and ushered Jim into his office, pushing him into the chair before closing the door.

“I’m sorry, _what_ did you just say?”

“Listen, Bones, I’ve never slept better in my _life_. I mean, he’s so strong and so soft and so _warm_ , and I have no idea what I’m going to do when we go back to not sleeping next to each other, it’s going to _wreck_ me. How am I even supposed to bring it up? What if he says no, what if he never talks to me again, what if he transf-”

“Jim,” Bones interrupted. “Are we talking about the same Spock here? Wait actually, I do NOT want to know how, when, or why you’re boning him. But –”

“Wait what, boning?!”

“–whatever it is, I’m sure you could talk to him about it –”

“Boning?!?!”

“–Communication is key to all relationships, as you know, and–“

“I am the captain of this ship, you can’t just say these things to me.”

“–I think it’s important that you take this opportunity to talk to him about things that are important to you –”

“Ohmygod, is that why everyone’s been acting weird? Do they think we’re boning?”

“–and if he cares about you enough, he’ll listen. And yes, everyone thinks you’re boning.”

Jim stared at him for a hot minute before closing his gaping mouth and sitting back in his chair, arms crossed. He looked to the side, contemplating something, and Dr. McCoy patiently waited. And waited. And waited. Until finally Jim huffed and turned to him. “Okay,” he said. “I’ll go talk to him. I’ll let you know what happens.”

“Please don’t.”

“Love you too Bonesy.” Jim blew a kiss towards him as he made his exit, determination in his step. With the truth almost out of his system, he felt almost whole again, a lightness in his step as he heard an indignant “Wait, what do you mean you two _aren’t_ boning?!” coming from the office behind him.

-

“–and as your captain, I’d like to thank you all for the hard work that you all have put in these past few days as well as for your flexibility to the situation. It may not have been easy for everyone, but your sacrifice of comfort has made remarkable impacts on our journey through space. With the full restoration of energy to all areas of the ship being completed by tomorrow morning, you may all resume normal activities as well as return to your originally assigned rooms tomorrow should you wish to do so. Thank you, and sleep well.”

The crowd of crewmembers murmured as they ambled out the door, and Jim let out a barely audible sigh. The crew had seemed happy to resume their normal lives, and while he was ready to get his ship back to peak condition, he wasn’t ready for his bed to be empty again. He wasn’t ready to lose the sense of domesticity that he’d accidentally gotten attached to, and if he wanted to keep it, he’d have to let his feelings for his first officer be known. A monumental task, but a task he’d have to accomplish by the end of tonight if he wanted to keep the fluttering feeling of comfort, care, and love that had built up over the last few weeks.

As if reading his thoughts (could he? Jim reminded himself to look into the telepathic abilities of Vulcans later), Jim made eye contact with the roommate in question from across the room. His involuntarily smile upon seeing Spock faltered when he saw the forlorn look in Spock’s eyes. The ten seconds of eye contact made Jim’s heart falter, and he only remembered to breathe when Spock averted his eyes and left the room.

The look lingered in his mind until later that day when Jim retired to his room for the night. As usual, Spock was in bed, and when their eyes met to exchange their hellos, an immediate sense of hesitancy overtook the two men. A slight, charged tension slowly filled the room as they chatted and got ready for bed. As if they hadn’t already been on edge all day, Jim’s nerves reached an all-time high by the time he slipped into his spot under the covers, laying very still on his back as Spock turned off the lights and joined him.

When Spock turned to face him, Jim automatically rolled over and slipped into his arms. Habits had never stuck to him much before, but for some reason, this was one thing his body never wanted to forget. He threw a leg over him and pressed his face into his chest, inhaling deeply as Spock’s arms rose to embrace him without hesitation. The tension eased.

“So,” Jim said after a beat. “We get our own rooms tomorrow.”

“Yes,” Spock said, careful precision at the edges of his voice.

“I…need to tell you something.” Jim’s heart leapt to his throat, and he was thankful for Spock’s endless patience as he took steadying breaths before pushing the words out of his mouth. “I don’t want my own room. Anymore.”

He heard Spock’s breath catch above him, felt the sudden stillness of his body, and hurried on before he could change his mind. “I really enjoy this, Spock. This…routine of ours. I like having you here. I like talking to you after work, I like walking back to our room together, I like seeing you here when I come home, I like sleeping next to you, I like cuddling with you, I like waking up to the sight of you in my bed. I like the way you smell, the way you try not to laugh even when my jokes are really really funny, the way your arms are deceptively strong but feel like home, the way your hair goes in every possible direction when you wake up. I like the way you make my heart flutter when you look at me, I like the way my head spins a little when you smile, and I like the fact that it feels like you complete me. I like…you. I like you, Spock, and I can’t keep myself away from you anymore. I don’t want to.”

The tension in the room thickened until it was unbearable, and Jim swore his heart had genuinely stopped beating when he felt Spock start shaking ever so slightly. His nerves almost convinced him to hightail it out of there when Spock pushed back, and Jim’s stomach _dropped_. This was it. This was where Spock told him that he never wanted to see him again and that he’d transfer off the ship. Jim’s mind, working quadruple time, nearly persuaded him of this when he lifted his head and saw Spock smiling.

A full blown, teeth-showing smile.

The tension snapped like a string, and Jim finally breathed.

Spock’s eyes shone with tears as they closed with the full force of his laughter. He rolled onto his back and covered his face with his hands, his body shaking with delight. Jim leaned back in confusion as he watched Spock exhibit the most adorable display of humanity he’d ever seen from him and was about to speak when Spock rolled back over and grabbed Jim by the shoulders.

“Jim,” Spock said, his eyes glowing. “I love you too.”

The words hit him one at a time. _I. Love. You. Too._ Jim’s heart bloomed in a way he’d never felt before, and his emotions bubbled out of him in a chuckle that blossomed into a giggle that spiraled into a full-bellied laugh. He pulled Spock closer towards him and enveloped him in a bone-crushing hug as the two men were consumed in the exhilaration of the revelation.

He pulled back a little and held Spock’s face in his hands. “Can I kiss you?” he asked breathlessly, because consent is sexy in every situation.

Spock’s smile only grew more as he nodded, closing the barely existent space between them as he did so. If Jim thought waking up next to Spock was incredible, kissing Spock was something else entirely. The electricity that passed through them left Jim gasping, and he carded his hands into Spock’s hair to deepen the kiss. When Spock retreated, Jim decided he never wanted to stop kissing him and chased his lips for seconds. And thirds and fourths and tenths until finally the two needed space to breathe (but just barely).

They rested their foreheads against each other and lay there, basking in the presence of the other. After a moment, Spock took one of Jim’s hands in his own and brought it up to their faces. He put his index and middle fingers together, shaped Jim’s hand to match his own, and brought the tips of their fingers together.

“What is this?” Jim asked, curiously watching a subtle shiver run through the Vulcan.

“This,” Spock said, “is akin to a Vulcan kiss. Now, when we do this while in command, you will know what it signifies.”

Jim gasped and slapped Spock’s shoulder lightly. “Spock, you horny bitch!” He laughed, the reality of their new future sinking in. “Don’t you worry, I’ll secretly make out with you whenever and however you want. Now that I can, I won’t ever stop.”

Spock hummed in agreement. “I would expect nothing less, Jim. Nor would I desire you to not do so.”

He laughed at that and snuggled closer to the Vulcan. The adrenaline wearing off, Jim rested his face in the crook of his neck and exhaled. “So I guess that means we’re not going back to separate rooms right?”

“Affirmative. If we returned to our previous sleeping arrangements, I believe I would, as you would put it, have an aneurysm.”

“Guess we’ll be saving a little more energy on this ship then.”

“Correct. Mr. Scott will undoubtedly appreciate our efforts.”

Jim scoffed and pressed a feather of a kiss to the side of Spock’s neck. “I love you. I wish I’d told you sooner, we could’ve had more time like this.”

He felt a responding kiss to the top of his head. “And I you, _Ashayam_. We have now and until the end of time.”

“Now and always?”

“Now and always.”

And Jim couldn’t ask for anything more.

-

*sometime later*

“Hey Spock, you know the whole crew thinks we’re boning?”

“We can make that happen.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> -Kudos to you if you know where that boning scene is inspired from  
> -Did Jim forget about the ship repairs or did I until someone commented about it? I'll leave it up to you  
> -Also, I love Spock's humanity. Fight me on it but mans definitely kicks his feet in bed when he's alone and thinks of cute lil ole Jim   
> -Jim a while later: You know, I thought you didn't like me romantically until the moment you confessed  
> Spock: Bitch, I have been full-body cuddling with you for literal weeks???  
> Jim: Yeah and? I give good cuddles, what's your point??


End file.
